I’m old enough to remember when Jerry Brown was last governor of California. I can’t say much about his term of office, though, because I was in college and not paying much attention to state politics at the time. My impression, though, was that, his personal eccentricities aside, he was mostly a standard issue California liberal: support for government solutions in preference to the private sector, a strong alliance with labor unions, and a willingness to hike taxes. On the plus side, though he opposed Proposition 13, which limited property taxes, once it passed, he worked within its limits and actually cut state spending. So, a generally center-left record, albeit pragmatic.

As Mayor of Oakland he continued to chart a pragmatic course, seeking to lure businesses to the city and trying to revitalize the downtown area. He even invited the Marines to hold wargames at the closed US Army base in Oakland. You can imagine how that was greeted by the local Lefties.

Leaving Oakland, he ran for and won election as Attorney General, though everyone knew this was just a stepping stone back to the governor’s office. And, indeed, his policies drifted more and more back toward those that would please the Left. For example, he tried desperately to ignore the scandals surrounding ACORN. When that was impossible, his investigation found they had broken no laws. On the other hand, he was eager to investigate Sarah Palin’s appearance at Cal State Stanislaus. That, too, turned up no law-breaking. Overall, the Competitive Enterprise Institute rated Brown as one of the worst state attorney generals in the nation (PDF)

Now it appears that transformation from the pragmatic Center-Left to full-blown tool is complete. Fearful that he hasn’t the money to compete with Republican nominee Meg Whitman, Brown has sunk to prostituting and prostrating himself before the most vile hard-Left, anti-American groups in the state. Tonight, just a couple of miles from Public Secrets Global HQ, Jerry is the guest of honor at a fundraiser at the home of Jodie Evans, one of the heads of Code Pink:

A serious candidate for Governor of the State of California is taking money from these pigs? Bear in mind that the “once and future” Governor Brown would be commander in chief of California’s National Guard and that, to date, 599 Californians, Guardsmen and regulars, have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And you’re letting a group that admires dictators and terrorists and spits on grieving mothers host a party for you, Mr. Attorney General?

So, which is it, Jerry? Fool or swine? Or is it that we know what you are and, after tonight, we’ll know the price?

RELATED: If you’re as appalled as I am, how about making a small contribution to Jerry’s opponent, Meg Whitman?